THE WESTERN Bulldogs are likely to take an unchanged line-up into their clash with Melbourne on Saturday, with injured forward Shaun Higgins unlikely to be risked. 

Higgins was a late withdrawal from last Sunday's win over Adelaide with groin soreness.

Coach Rodney Eade said that, while the talented young gun would be considered by the match committee, the Dogs would be more likely to err on the side of caution.

"He's a good chance to be right to play, but we're not going to take any risks with him," Eade said on Wednesday.

"It's a groin and we don't want those to linger on. He'll train later in the week, he trained yesterday and he's pulled up OK, but if he's 95 per cent, we won't play him."

Eade said Higgins had no history of groin related problems and had been feeling “a bit tight” in the region for the past few weeks.

Midfielder Ryan Griffen has recovered from the corked buttock he picked up on the weekend. He trained on Wednesday and is expected to face the Demons.

Eade said Jarrad Grant – who kicked three goals for Williamstown on the weekend – would get another senior chance soon, while Wayde Skipper, Guy O'Keefe, Callan Ward and Dylan Addison were pushing for selection but unlikely to play this Saturday.

"I wouldn't have thought we'd make a change – only Higgins if he right," he said.

"There won't be any other changes than that. Last week would have been a good opportunity for those guys, but we showed some faith in some guys that have served well and worked hard.

"They were able to turn their form around. You've always got to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and making knee-jerk reactions with selection.

"There were some players under pressure, and over the next few weeks, there might be injuries or form lapses, so those guys will get their chance."

Eade said one of the most pleasing aspects of Sunday's win over the Crows was the return to form of forward Robert Murphy and midfielder Adam Cooney after both had interrupted pre-seasons.

"They're still two or three weeks away from full fitness. Robert had 85 per cent game time last week, which was a bit more than we had hoped, but he has recovered pretty well," he said.

"Adam had 70 per cent of game time so we'd like to build that up over the next couple of weeks.

"He can still improve. He was still a bit fumbly at times, and he hasn't played enough games as yet, but we're very pleased.

"It's good to have them back and they are certainly keys to our side”.